CORY STRAND "MULHOLLAND DRIVE (ADDENDUM)" CDr (AOW 249)

Companion volume to the larger ten disc set.  This single CDr rework of the "Mulholland Drive" soundtrack uses the entire OST as one piece (each song played back to back), which I manipulated and then processed into a gargantuan HNW suite (i realize that to not have some sort of audio violence in a rework to this film would represent something of a failure on my part in recognizing the film's overall tone and atmosphere.)  Far from being stagnant, this is a towering, undulating composition, encompassing moments of all out sludge drone, ANW, HNW, and various floating bits of noise detritus.  One of my most dynamic works, for sure.
Packaged in a DVD case in a limited edition of 5 hand-numbered copies.  $10 ppd. in the United States, $23 rest of world.

ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com

CORY STRAND "MULHOLLAND DRIVE: A REINTERPRETATION" 10CDr (AOW 242)

Massive rework of David Lynch's mindfucking doppelganger masterpiece "Mulholland Drive."  As with all of Lynch's work, the soundtrack here is killer, but for me this is one of the absolute best, a deep and emotional journey through horror and eros, meeting in the void where the two at last intertwine.  Very few people could title a track "Mountains Falling" and have the music live up to the imagery, but Lynch (as one half of Blue Bob on that particular track) does-the earth will crumble over the course of that track.  Worlds can fall apart.  Having Angelo Badalamenti on board is just the icing on the cake-pure audio melodrama, enthralling, gorgeous, dnagerous, and unknown.
In working with this score, I've gone all drone-seriously deep, thick, heady drone, to complement the film's preoccupation with epistemology and identity.  Many of these tracks eschew melody in favor of tone, but there are my usual moments of austere loveliness and frigid beauty buried down in the dark hearts of the tracks.  Many of these pieces are taken past 30 minutes, to provide as immersive and transcendent an experience through sound as the film provides through imagery.  I am very proud of this collection.
Packaged in a twin-volume DVD case (doppelgangers!) in a limited edition of 5 hand-numbered copies.  $65 ppd. in the United States, $78 rest of world.

ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com

CORY STRAND "HALLOWEEN: REVISITED" CDr (AOW 247)

Do i need to say anything?  It's Halloween, so here's another rework of John Carpenter's beloved score for the equally beloved film.  This one is the soundtrack as one unbroken track, transformed into a psychedelically charged piece of HNW horror-sculpting.  Enjoy, and happy Halloween!
Packaged in a DVD case in a limited edition of 5 hand-numbered copies.  $10 ppd. in the United States, $23 rest of world.

ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com

CORY STRAND "VERTIGO: A REINTERPRETATION" 5CDr (AOW 246)

Deep ambient reworking of Bernard Herrmann's masterful score for what is perhaps Hitch's finest film, "Vertigo."  I've been really enjoying working with these highly orchestral scores as of late; their flourishes and changes make for very interesting and emotionally resonant manipulations.  In working with this particular score, I wanted to keep the dread and anxiety in Herrmann's score present without sacrificing beauty; the pieces here are at once imbued with a crawling sort of nauseau as well as an inherent loveliness, a call from the ghostly past.  I'd put this somewhere between my Tim Hecker-type constructions ("Marie Antoinette," et al.) and my very stagnant drone works ("Escape From New York," etc.)  The class I'm taking on Hitch this semester has reawakened my love of his work, not least of which is the incredibly fertile period of collaboration with Herrmann.  A thing of beauty and foreboding.
Packaged in a DVD case in a limited edition of 5 hand-numbered copies.  $30 ppd. in the United States, $43 rest of world.

ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com 

CORY STRAND "THE BIRDS: A REINTERPRETATION" 5CDr (AOW 245)

Another film that someone requested I work with.  The timing seemed right (it's Halloween, plus we've been working with this film quite a bit between my various film classes this semester) so i thought I'd give it a whirl.  Hitchcock fanatics will of course know that "The Birds" has no score, only diegetic music and a pummeling sound design; in working with the film, I opted to use the entire audio track directly, breaking it into two one-hour chunks for ease of manipulation (also enabling me to create audio CDs as opposed to a DVD-r.)  This five disc rework features two discs of crushing, psychedelic HNW and two discs of insanely cold and dreary death ambient, and a fifth disc of HNW created from the film's awesome credits sequence (the last disc may well be my favorite of the set, as it features very little manipulation other than distortions-for those familiar with the film, expect nothing less than avian HNW holocaust!)  This one was really fun to make, and I believe that joy comes out in the recordings.
Packaged in a DVD case in a limited edition of 5 hand-numbered copies.  $30 ppd. in the United States, $43 rest of world.

ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com

"THE WALKING DEAD: IMPRESSIONS" ART PRINT BY GINA NEWMAN

To raise money for our upcoming collaborative release "The Walking Dead: Impressions," my lady friend Gina has created an art print of the slipcase image that will adorn the 3xC60 set.  The original image was hand-drawn by Gina and cut into a wood block by her; each print is then created individually and inked by Gina on a heavy paper stock.  The prints are suitable for framing and measure about 4" x 7".  We're offering these because I don't have the means to dub cassettes and we're trying to raise some money to do so; to create this particular work we need to send the cassette out to be dubbed by a third party.  If you've purchased any of the Sofia Coppola reworks Gina and I have collaborated on, then you're familiar with her meticulous, clean black and white style.  These are really quite cool!
Released in an edition of 20 prints.  $7 ppd. in the United States, $20 rest of world.

ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com

CORY STRAND " A WORLD WITHOUT FLOWERS" 2CDr (AOW 244)

All new double album set of Paris Hilton reworks, this time using large chunks of audio from her debut album.  The pieces here are severe and austere death drone, very minimal and stagnant, with a frigid melodic undercurrent that makes you think you're hearing things that may or may not be there.  Time freezing pop manipulations in honor of one of my favorite cultural touchstones.
Packaged in a DVD case in a limited edition of 5 hand-numbered copies.  $15 ppd. in the United States, $28 rest of world.

ORDER HERE: www.altarofwasterecords.storenvy.com